The lights flickered as they stepped into the small apartment before finally brightening up the room. From the looks of it, they hadn't been gone for long and nothing amiss had happened in their absence. Aside from a few mails, it seemed that nobody had suspected anything. It was late and it's been too long since they left, but, for some reason, she didn't feel hungry.

"Zei, did you stock the fridge before you leave?"

A soft gasp broke her from her daydream. Zei looked at Dorumon as the purple beast headed straight for her fridge. There were still food in it, most of which would tide them for the night.

"I did, fortunately, but I don't really feel that hungry..."

She smiled. She was quite happy to be home again and to still be in one piece in the aftermath of their battles, but there were still a few pressing issues deep in her mind.

"Is this where you keep your food, Miss Zei? Looks more like a shoddy safe."

"Shut up, fish head. At least you get a place to stay while you're here."

"Hey! I came here with the best of intentions! Is that how you talk to your old friend, Dorumon?"

"Old nuisance, more like."

Zei chuckled as she gently pushed Dorumon and Ranamon aside to look at what they had. She could always cook up a nice meal for herself and Dorumon wasn't a picky eater. Her focus was more on her new housemate. "Ranamon, was it? Is there anything you don't like in particular?" she asked, looking at the blue Digimon as she tilted her head with one hand on her chin.

"Not really... I do like fish though."

That should be easy for her to prepare. "I see. Dorumon, would you kindly show her around the apartment? I'll prepare dinner in the meantime."

With a light squeal, Ranamon didn't bother waiting for her answer as she dragged the purple Rookie with her, excitedly looking around at the human settlement. Amidst the string of curse words, chatters and groans in the background, Zei returned to the most important issue she had in mind while her body settled into her old human routine as she began preparations for their quick dinner.

---

After attending Lucas' briefing, Zei had remained rather silent until now and her gaze had a grim glint in it. The remnants of the shock still remained in her system and it's hard for her to get rid of it. All she did was listen to what everyone was saying, the ideas and suggestions everyone was pitching and the revelations they began to piece together gradually, but what came about hit her close to him, too close for comfort.

For one, Lucas brought up the likely culprit behind their earlier troubles: the attacks from BlackWargreymon, the rogue Digimons in their world, the mysterious organization that kidnapped Ruby and the man working behind the scenes. The name struck her like a bullet train. She couldn't and didn't want to believe it, but there was a hint of guilt in her heart that she couldn't push aside. That's because [i]she knew him[/i]. 

Masashi Takeda was no acquaintance. She had met him in the past under somewhat dire circumstances and helped him, though she began to wonder if her past actions were now causing an unwanted consequence and whether or not he even remembered her. Being the CEO of a large corporation, Zei doubted that he would even recognize her. That said, if what was said about him was true, he needed to be stopped, [i]fast[/i]. Lucas and Leon had the same idea, if the former's parting words were any indication. She knew every single one of the humans in their little ragtag group would strongly object to her going on this harrowing mission, regardless of what she knew about Takeda. However, she couldn't bear the thought of sitting back and letting the others delve into danger. A resolute idea was formed in her mind, deadly and almost foolish, but one she gladly undertake.

---

"You're thinking about what those meatbags have been talking about?"

Another gasp, this time louder and peppered with surprise, made Zei looked back to see Ranamon and Dorumon behind her, the former on the latter's back. She didn't know how long they had been there, but certainly long enough to catch her by surprise.

"Face it, Zei. You haven't been the best liar I've known. You've been awfully silent since we left for the Human World," Dorumon said in a deadpan tone. Being fused with her allowed her to glimpse into her mind and her being her tamer helped her understood the human better than most Digimons. She could tell during the briefing that she was troubled and didn't want to disclose it to the others.

"Miss Zei, I can't speak for my friend here, but I think I have a good guess on what you have in mind," Ranamon chimed in. "You want to do something about this Takeda person for what happened back in your world. I believe it's safe to say that we all share a common goal here. Besides, no offense to you, but there's no way you can go alone. Let us help you!"

""Us"? Since when did you have a stake in this?" Dorumon asked, her brow raised with concern and suspicion. "Since that blue munchkin and his human buddy said that I'm too small and dainty to go with them! The nerve of them! I am Ranamon, treasure hunter extraordinaire and thief by trade! There's no way I'm passing this up!" While aware of how rude she was, Dorumon couldn't help but chuckle at her old friend's burning anger and indignant pout before turning back to Zei. "Well, I don't want to waste your time, so here are a few words from me: [b][i]Take us[/i][/b] or we're not letting you out of this apartment."

The passing time had brought her and Dorumon closer and, from what she was told, Ranamon and the latter also happened to be quite close, if not a tad shady, in the past. Normally, she would had been insistent in going alone, seeing that she was the one with the issue, but after their little adventure, she had come to value allies and friends even more than she did in the past. It would not be an easy task and failure would mean catastrophe for their worlds, but Zei had no plans on backing away or letting her two Digital housemates hold her ransom. She sighed, leaning against the counter and rubbing the bridge of her nose to regain her composure, then turned to the two Digimons with a calm, yet knowing smile.

"It seems that words aren't of much use now. Shall we head out tomorrow?"

Their grins were all the agreement she needed and it looked like the her composure was finally settling down...

"Now that we're actually on the same page here, when can we expect dinner?"

... before crashing into pieces thanks to Dorumon's bluntness and her own fit of chuckles.

"In a bit, Dorumon. I only have canned meat and sardines for tonight. I hope that's alright with you, Ranamon."

"Food is food, Miss Zei," Ranamon replied with a smile, happy to experience her hospitality, before turning to her companion and whispering into her ear, "Way to ruin the mood, Dorumon."

"Fuck the mood. I'm hungry."